<p>Which is better? Cornell or U.V.a?
As a Liberal Art and Science student, which college would you go if you get accepted to both of them? Would you go for the Ivy, or would you take your chance in the public school that will cost you less?</p>
<p>I know both schools are excellent, and I will be more than happy to go to any of those schools. however I am on the verge of deciding my Early Decision school, which would be a binding selection. help me decide my mind.</p>
<p>Well...all I have to say is:</p>
<p>U.Va. students are consistently ranked among the happiest and most balanced in the nation. </p>
<p>Cornell has the highest suicide rate in the nation.</p>
<p>Semiserious, you are actually wrong about Cornell having the highest suicide rate in the nation. It doesn't even have the highest suicide rate in the Ivy League. </p>
<p>Jeewoorim, what do you intend to major in? Cornell is a great school, but so is UVA. If you are a resident of Virginia and attending UVA will cost you $15,000/year compared to Cornell's $45,000, I would say go for UVA, unless you want to major in Computer Science, Physics or Chemistry, in which case, I would say go for Cornell. But if you are not a Virginia resident, UVa would cost almost as much as Cornell, at which point, I would say go for fit.</p>
<p>I live in Virginia, but you see, there's this strong feeling that I want to get out of Virginia. I know U.Va is a great school, and my parents want me to go there. but I feel like it's time for me to be apart from my parents. (sorry, mom.. dad..) humm.. It is unlikely that I would major in any of Cornell's courses you listed above, but that doesn't mean that Cornell is not as good as U.Va in other courses, does it? I hope the school has a good foundation in humanities, such as business, politics and economics. I mean it's precisely an Ivy school, which I expect the school to offer me the best course with excellent professors and inspiring classmates. right? I donno really.. i'll probably apply to Cornell, and ask for the financial aid, but if that doesn't work out.. i guess i would have to withdraw the early admission and apply to U.Va.</p>
<p>I do not think you should apply early decision anywhere unless you are prepared to honor that commitment and pay whatever the schools costs. On the other hand, if the financial aid package isn't what you expected, I don't think any college would hold you to your agreement, On the other hand, they might argue that they met your financial "need", so there is no excuse for not going. No student has ever been sued for not living up to an early decision agreement. On the other hand, UVA might find out that you broke your early decision.</p>
<p>In other words, don't apply early decision unless you are sure you will attend at any cost.</p>
<p>If I were an in-stater and were accepted at UVA, I would find it hard to pass up the UVA tuition for Cornell. And, I am a HUGE fan of Cornell.</p>
<p>Cornell is "better", but not better enough than UVA to justify the financial outlay for a price-sensitive family. Once you are at UVA, it will feel like you are 1000 miles away.</p>
<p>Cornell has an excellent business program which is known as Applied Economics and Management (AEM) and it is part of the Agricultural & Life Sciences school. You mentioned business/economics so you should apply to that school: its 12 in the nation and highly ranked. However UVA's McIntire is also a great business school - and its cheaper. You can stay on a dorm and you dont always have to be with your parents you know. Its MUCH cheaper...and ED means you'd HAVE to pay for Cornell.</p>
<p>Cornell also does not give merit aid! So you'd have to get financial aid. You have to think about all these things- ED is not something to be taken lightly. Only if you can pay for it, do ED. </p>
<p>Also have you visited both schools? Depends on which atmosphere you like better.</p>
<p>Its also nice to live <em>somewhat</em> close to home. You have your parents there for support if you are feeling depressed, moving in & out is easier, etc.</p>
<p>I dont know - think about it though!</p>
<p>I would say go for UVA, the gap between UVA and Cornell is too small and not worth the cost. I think you'll be just as happy at UVA.</p>
<p>I always say that if a student is a resident of California, Michigan, North Carolina, Texas, Virginia or Wisconsin should stay in-state if they get into their state's flagship university unless:</p>
<p>1) They get a very good financial aid package from out-of-state universities.
2) Come from very wealthy families.
3) Have a shot at Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Stanford and Yale.</p>
<p>There are exceptions of course. For example, a resident of Wisconsin may want to chose Wharton over Wisconsin-madison Business. A resident of Virginia may want to chose Cal or Stanford over UVA etc... But by and large, it makes no sense to pay an extra $100,000 to attend most universities over a top university like UVA.</p>
<p>I agree with you Alexandre, and I wish I lived in one of those states! But alas - I live in New Jersey so it's either Rutgers or Princeton for me. Rutgers is not good enough and I can't get into Princeton, so I have no cheap options left and must go out of state. Sad things.</p>
<p>Actually, even for out of state U.Va is nearly $10,000 cheaper. $37,000 (including room & board) vs $45,000 (does this include room & board?)</p>
<p>I think alexandre stretches it a bit (I wouldnt include UWisconsin or Texas on that list except certain specialized areas), but close calls like UVA vs. Cornell I have to agree with him and say Cornell might not be worth it.</p>
<p>Yes, but $8,000/year is not enough to completely discount one university in favor of another. I think a good fit is worth more than $8,000/year. But this debate it pointless since the OP is in fact a resident of Virginia. As such, we are talking about a $100,000 difference over 4 years. I personally do not think it makes sense to pay that much more when the cheaper alternative is UVA, one of the top universities in the nation.</p>
<p>I agree with Alexandre in his previous posts.</p>
<p>Money aside, I would look at factors like-
weather: very cold vs pleasant
surrounding area: ithaca vs charlottesville
fitness level: pretty fit vs very very fit
sports: division 2 for most sports vs division 1
job opportunites: a lot(nyc especially) vs a lot(dc/metro especially)</p>
<p>you've got generous parents, jeewoonrim. the difference in reputation between cornell and virginia isn't big enough to justify the cost for a virginia resident. you should invest the savings to help pay for grad school.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone. I'm rethinking my options again... One big problem is that I don't have my essay for U.Va!! I did the essay for Cornell, but- not U.Va yet.. okay.. so my final decision is going to be to just not do the Early Decision... ;;; just great..haha.. (sorry, i'm under stress these days...)</p>